When news first broke that Republican congressman-elect George Santos had lied about where he went to school and his work history, it seemed like an embarrassing oversight for the Republican party. But with each passing day, we’re learning more about this possible con man who is, in fact, now an official member of the House of Representatives. And while he makes a handy punch line, The Daily Beast reports that Jon Stewart is concerned that the governmental powers-that-be might not be taking Keyser Santos as seriously as they should or looking at him as an honest-to-goodness threat to democracy.
On the latest episode of The Problem With Jon Stewart, Stewart’s podcast, the former The Daily Show host had a lot to say about the Republican party’s newest fabulist, whom he described as “screaming of mediocrity.” But he was also quick to point out that while it’s easy to be fascinated by the non-stop string of lies Santos has been throwing down (believe it or not, he was NOT a volleyball champ) we all need to be careful to not let the inanity of it all be the only thing we’re talking about:
The thing we have to be careful of, and I always caution myself on this — and I ran into this trouble with Trump — is: we cannot mistake absurdity for lack of danger. Because it takes people with no shame to do shameful things… Like, there’s that Brazilian insurrection. And you could say, ‘Oh, this is absurd.’ But in absurdity is where the real danger always is… Absurdity always makes you think something is more benign than it is. I had the same problem; I misjudged Trump because he’s SO ridiculous. And then you think about, well, the worst people in history have been ridiculous.
You can watch the full conversation above.
(Via The Daily Beast)